Currency Trading

THE DOLLAR drifted lower against most other major currencies in worldwide foreign exchange trading Wednesday. The British pound in U.S. trading rose to $1.2962 from $1.28645. Other dollar rates in U.S. trading as of 4 p.m. and compared with Tuesday were:

(BU) 3.0520 W. German marks, down from 3.0615;

(BU) 2.5435 Swiss francs, down from 2.5600;

(BU) 248.90 Japanese yen, up from 248.85;

(BU) 9.2975 French francs, down from 9.3250;

(BU) 1,945.52 Italian lire, down from 1,949;

(BU) 1.3630 Canadian dollars, down from 1.3645.

PRECIOUS METALS

GOLD PRICES were narrowly mixed Wednesday. Republic National Bank in New York quoted gold as of 4 p.m. at $315.50 a troy ounce, down 50 cents from Tuesday`s late bid. On the Commodity Exchange in New York, gold for June delivery slipped 30 cents to $315.70. Also on the Comex, spot silver fell 1.3 cents to $6.137.

BOND/MONEY MARKETS

BOND PRICES turned mostly higher Wednesday after a week of declines and despite a new round of federal borrowing. The Treasury Department sold $6 billion in new seven-year notes at an average yield of 10.40 percent, the lowest since a similar issue was sold at an average yield of 9 percent on Aug. 15, 1979. The average yield was 11.85 percent at the previous auction of seven-year notes in April. In the secondary market for Treasury bonds, prices of short-term governments gained 2/32 point, intermediate maturities were up 4/32 to 18/32 point, and long-term issues climbed 20/32 point, according to the investment firm of Salomon Brothers Inc. (A full point is $10 in the price of a bond with a $1,000 face value.) In corporate trading, industrials edged up ( point, and utilities rose 1/4 point in light trading. Among tax-exempt municipal bonds, general obligations were unchanged, and dollar bonds rose ( point in light activity, Salomon Brothers said. Yields on three-month Treasury bills fell 12 basis points (hundredths of a percentage point) to 6.97 percent. Six-month bills dropped 10 basis points to 7.18 percent, and one-year bills were off 11 basis points at 7.38 percent. Yields on 30-year Treasury bonds fell to 10.63 percent from 10.70 percent.

NATIONAL BUSINESS

CONTRACTS FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION rose 1 percent in May and extended the record surge of building activity that began in March, F.W. Dodge reported Wednesday. May`s contracts, valued at an annual rate of $228 billion, showed an upturn in housing and non-residential building but a drop in public works construction. The seasonally adjusted Dodge Index (1977 equals 100) of total construction value edged up to 162 in May from 161 in April.

FLORIDA BUSINESS

(BU) U.S. BANKRUPTCY JUDGE Sidney M. Weaver ordered Fort Lauderdale-based Pompano Airways to turn over aircraft documents and spare parts to The First National Bank of St. Paul in Minnesota by Friday. The commuter airline leased a Nord aircraft from First National until early April when the plane was returned to the possession of the bank, according to a bank official. Documents necessary to fly or sell the plane under Federal Aviation Administration requirements had not yet been returned however, according to bank attorney Daniel Lampert of Miami. The airline filed for protection under Chapter 11 of bankruptcy laws last January. It stopped flying about two weeks ago.

(BU) U-HAUL, the nation`s largest truck rental company, has been accused by the Federal Trade Commission of trying in 1981 to create a monopoly and bury a competitor, Jartran Inc. of Miami, a rival then under bankruptcy court protection, by using ``sham litigation.`` In addition, the FTC charged U-Haul opposed a settlement between Jartran and certain creditors even though the settlement would have increased the amount of money U-Haul would have received. An FTC spokesman said U-Haul faces no fine, but if the complaint is upheld, the FTC could require the company to receive approval before it enters similar cases involving competitors.

(BU) FLORIDA GASOLINE PRICES rose an average half-cent this month, after having risen 9.2 cents since February. The latest report from AAA Clubs of Florida in Miami shows the average price of all grades of gasoline is $1.265 per gallon. Self-service unleaded averages $1.19 per gallon, unchanged since May. The latest figures follow a pattern set in previous years in which gas prices increased before the start of summer.